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HOME celebrates over one million visits in its first year

HOME will mark its successful first year with a celebratory weekend Friday 20-Sunday 22 May.

Since attracting 28,000 visitors to its opening weekend in May 2015, HOME, Manchester’s international centre for contemporary visual art, theatre and film, has welcomed over one million visits and sold more than 211,000 tickets. It will mark its successful first year with a celebratory weekend Friday 20 –Sunday 22 May.

The weekend’s activities will include a major new art exhibition, Imitation of Life, that explores racial politics in an evolving world; live performance by celebrated artists Larry Achiampong and David Blandy and a double bill of theatre with Gutted by The Conker Group, created by Liz Richardson and Tara Robinson, and Late Night Love, presented by Manchester-based Eggs Collective. Check out the full weekend‘s line up here.

It is with huge pride that we look back at our first year as HOME.

Dave Moutrey, HOME’s Director and Chief Executive

Black triangular object with white writing

AL AL ©Simon Liddiard

During its first year, as well as exhibitions such as AL and AL: Incidents of Travel in the Multiverse, performances of Macbeth, Streetwise Opera’s The Passion, and Kneehigh’s Dead Dog in a Suitcase (And Other Love Songs) and a diverse film programme, HOME has also run a number of social impact programmes.

HOME’s Inspire Scheme, supported by the Oglesby Charitable Trust, enables HOME to provide low cost tickets to specific community groups and those who might not normally have the opportunity to visit the venue or take part in cultural events. Its Young Creatives programme, aimed at young people aged 15-25, supports local creative and creative industry practitioners with regular workshops and networking opportunities to help develop skills and encourage innovative thinking.

At only a year old, HOME has already made a huge impact on the cultural life of Manchester and the North West, making the city an even more compelling place for audiences and artists.

Alison Clark, Director North, Arts Council England

HOME has also won two prestigious architectural awards -a 2016 RIBA North West Award and a 2016 RICS Award in the Tourism and Leisure category.

Crowd of people in a foyer of a venue

HOME launch ©Chris Payne

The Arts Council supported the development of HOME with a £5 million Capital grant and it is one of our National portfolio organisations for 2015-18, receiving over a £1 million a year.

Alison Clark, Director North, Arts Council England said: “At only a year old, HOME has already made a huge impact on the cultural life of Manchester and the North West, making the city an even more compelling place for audiences and artists. The wonderfully buzzy atmosphere that’s always in the building backs this up on a daily basis. It’s quickly built a national and international reputation for quality and innovation, and we look forward to seeing this build in future years.”

Couple sitting on a bench in front of an image of two people kissing

The Heart ©Chris Payne

"It is with huge pride that we look back at our first year as HOME. Communities in Manchester and from further afield have enjoyed various aspects of our programme, and have come to love this creative space where what’s new is what matters, and what matters is that you’re always made to think, question and feel…at home. We’ve had the pleasure of working with a huge number of extremely talented people from all over the world, and have been blown away by the level of support helping us to present audiences with an extraordinary, ambitious and yet accessible programme. We’re excited to see what the next year holds in store for us." Dave Moutrey, HOME’s Director and Chief Executive.

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